WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE OUR PRESENT AND FUTURE BETTER?

 

Hi, everyone! Have you ever thought about what you can do to make your life better? I am not superstitious nor believe in bad luck. I believe in facts and commitment. What about you? On 31st December I was hopeful, deep in thought and reflecting on my own New Year's Resolutions: I hoped 2022 would be a year of change for me so I started wondering what I could do to be an active change maker, for myself, my family and the whole world.

I was also inspired by the words of our President Sergio Mattarella. His words were truly inspiring.

THE LAST MESSAGE OF A GREAT PRESIDENT

As in previous years, the Head of State delivered his end of the year’s speech, but last December it was President Mattarella’s last one,  since he’s going to retire soon. He thanked the Italian people and the institutions of the Republic, he also talked of his experience during the years of Covid-19 and he reflected about the future and the present. He had a special message for young people, too: he remembered  all the exceptional youth he has met and awarded in his 7 years at the Quirinale. 

The president said  that we young people are messengers of novelty and freedom, that we are different from the previous generations and that he wanted us to carry on, to not discourage ourselves and to pursue our goals and dreams.  

 

A BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE TO YOUNG PEOPLE

 

In his speech the President quoted the beautiful words of Pietro Carmina, a Philosophy and History high school teacher who was one of the victims in the recent, tragic Ravanusa explosion.  The late teacher had written a letter to his students two years before his death,  on occasion of his retirement. Sergio Mattarella included those words in his own speech because, he said,  they reflected his thought and what he himself would advise to young people. In a passage of the letter, the history teacher had written:

“…Usate le parole che vi ho insegnato per difendervi e per difendere chi quelle parole non le ha; non siate spettatori ma protagonisti della storia che vivete oggi: infilatevi dentro, sporcatevi le mani, mordetela la vita, non adattatevi, impegnatevi, non rinunciate mai a seguire le vostre mete, anche le più ambiziose, caricatevi sulle spalle chi non ce la fa: voi non siete il futuro, siete il presente. Vi prego: non siate mai indifferenti, non abbiate mai paura di rischiare per non sbagliare…”

“…Use the words that I taught you to defend yourselves and to defend who doesn’t own those words; do not be the audience,  but the actors of present - day history: delve into it,  dirty your hands, bite your life and do not settle, work hard and never give up your goals, even the most ambitious ones. Carry the weak on your shoulders: you are the future, you are the present.  Please,  never be indifferent,  never be afraid of taking risks in order to avoid making mistakes …”

 

I find these words really thought-provoking and inspiring, they push you to do something, to make a difference, to seize the day and to pursue your dreams and your goals, even the ones you may think impossibile to achieve.

 

I think that with patience, sacrifices, courage and determination we could really achieve whatever we want. These words teach us  to become the protagonists of history and make the most of our time (even school time!) . They invite us to fight for our future, to stand up if we fall, to overcome our fears, never to be indifferent and to live according to the Latin motto “carpe diem”.

 

 

These words reminded me of a beautiful poem by Italian poetess Maria Luisa Spaziani. In her “Aspetta la tua impronta” , she invites the readers to win their indifference and indolence in order to give shape to the world,  which she compares to a wax ball. I read this poem during a lesson with my Italian teacher and I was touched by those lines. I’ll treasure them as an important teaching to actively live my  life and work for a better present and future, not only for myself.

 

Giorgia, 3sc